Just Like it Never Happened
by Siyakatzi
Summary: Before Gaara & co. take off to Konohagakure, the insomniac boy was going through odd changes. And Sasuke was torn between 2 dilemmas: his promise to kill Itachi and.. His sexuality? And what was developing between Temari and Shikamaru? Yaoi & some Lemon..
1. Chapter 1

**Just Like It Never Happened**

**Disclaimer:** This is fan fiction. Most places & characters are borrowed from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto manga.

**Summary:** Before Gaara & co. take off to Konohagakure, the insomniac boy was going through odd changes. At the same time, Sasuke was torn between 2 dilemmas: his promise to kill his brother and.. His sexuality? (SasuGaa yaoi) And what was developing between Temari and Shikamaru?

**Pairing:** Sasuke X Gaara, Shikamaru X Temari

**Warning:** This story will contain slash, and probably death(s). I'm not really following a specific storyline, and I'll do my best to avoid spoilers. Please note that there will be OOC themes.. (Duh.. it's going to be a yaoi pairing..) But, hopefully, not too obvious.  
(Really.. It's funny how I can contradict myself sometimes! LoL!)

This is my first fan fiction.. So I will be delighted to hear/read your benevolent advice and reviews.. Domo..

**Chapter 01**

Gaara yawned; he was getting tired again.. He had spent half of his day completing his A level mission, and the other half reading and studying to keep himself occupied. It was not his fault that he had insomnia.. He sighed and looked up, "we're moving to Konohagakure in 3 days.. Damn.." he got up from his seat and headed to his library's balcony.. It was dark and quiet and the only people, who were awake outside, were the guards who were trying their best not to meet his gaze..

More often than not, Gaara would keep a cool and controlled face and always had apathetic actions- unless they were too personal to avoid. And when that happens - it ends with blood shed.. Never his though.. The only scar he ever had was the one he carved on his forehead, it wasn't easy.. He stared off far ahead to see the sand dunes under the silver moonlight as the hot desert breeze brushed by. A warm energy swept down his spine, which he found quite eerie.. He waited for a while for it to go, but it wouldn't.. "What's happening to me?" he whispered and dreadfully added, "I think I need help.. Hmm.. Who's awake and not scared enough to avoid me?" he started breathing heavily and his feet were shaking, ".. Baki!! He should be leaving father's office by now," he hurried off towards the library exit.

As he reached the destined corridor he saw Baki just leaving the office. Baki looked at him and frowned, "Gaara?" the boy was panting and sweating and somehow red in the face.. He then whispered quietly, "we need to talk.. But not here.."

Baki raised an eyebrow but silently followed Gaara to the boy's untouched room.

Baki walked in, keeping a wary eye on Gaara as he closed the door.. There was a moment of silence. Baki guessed that his Kazekage's son was trying to find the right words.. He was amused.. Gaara straightened up and regained his composure.. "It feels weird." He finally spoke, nodding his head down. The man looked at him and blinked with his only visible eye, "what?"

Gaara cocked his head to the side.. He's not much of a social person, "It feels funny from my waist and below," he answered in his usual tired voice as he folded his arms across his shoulder.. He was getting rather impatient and rather flat with his word-choice.. He didn't like repeating himself.

Baki looked rather taken back, but eventually look down.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"You are 12 years old?"

"Yes."

"Congrats."

"What?"

"You're coming of age."

Gaara was quiet for a while, but then voluntarily broke the silence "Oh."

"Exactly."

"You can leave now."

As Gaara headed towards the restroom, Baki rubbed his neck and left with a sigh of relief. "I'm alive.. Good.." he breathed out.

Gaara sat on the toilet seat staring at the floor.

"Time for me to conclude my biology classes.."

After he was done with the bathroom, he picked up his calabash gourd and headed out of the room.

Temari was in her room closing up her bag when she heard a knock on the door. "It's really late.. Who could it be?"

"What?!" she hollered impatiently.

"It's just me," came Baki's voice.

"Can it wait? It's late! I'm planning on sleeping peacefully tonight!" she sighed, "we had to work with Gaara for more that half of the day and an A class operation too.."

"Ah speaking of Gaara- good thing you brought it up!" Temari twitched "something interesting happened "

"Hai hai! I'm coming!" She reluctantly got up and took her time opening the door just to irk him up, and the results were quite pleasing in her favor.

"About time," he grumbled. Baki noticed the packed bag, "ah, you packed?"

"Yep! All done," she said hurriedly putting her hands on her hips, "now tell me!"

"Gaara had reached that stage."

"Oh," Temari responded, "how much did you tell him?"

"I.. told him that he was coming of age.."

"That's it?" Temari eyed him wearily, "I guess you want me to tell him."

"Yes, I believe that it is not my place to do so."

"You are afraid he'd kill you," she teased.

"And that too," he wasn't joking.

"Alright, I will," She said as if she had given it enough thought. "Tomorrow."

"But-!" she cut him off by slamming the door.

"I need to sleep! I'm sure he'll be in that old library reading some stupid biology book!"

"Procrastinator!"

"Human!"

'So much for a good night of peaceful sleep'.. Temari threw herself on her bed and dozed off exasperatedly.. 'Tomorrow's going to be a long day..'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

The next day, Temari headed towards the library right after her breakfast. Kankuro was bragging about his new creation to an admirer a few feet away from the door.

Gaara was quietly returning huge books back on the shelves, only glimpsing briefly at her when she entered. His gourd was back to it's shapeless sand form beside him.

"Gaara," She uttered softly. He didn't respond and continued with what he was doing. She felt a little irritated and decided to try again- louder this time, "Gaara!"

"I heard you the first time!" he growled as he spun around, making her heart skip a beat, "I have no intention of having some tête-à-tête with you."

Temari cleared her throat, 'I expected that..' she thought to herself, 'I can do this..'

"I heard from Baki about it," she began, ignoring what he had said. Gaara glared back, she quickly went on, sweating her heart out, "a Shukaku Jinchūriki has a slightly different plan than normal people." Now he was listening as he gazed at her indolently.

"They get a chance to feel pain.. Um.. Effortlessly.." She hesitated. Gaara's eyes widened with a glint of interest and impatience.. She was panicking.

"During intimate moments, when a Shukaku Jinchūriki and his/her partner both share intimate moment.." if Gaara had any eyebrows he would have raised one "the Jinchūriki can experience pleasurable pain that result from hickies.. And it applies more on homosexuals, and results show that there's about a 90 percent chance that a Shukaku Jinchūriki can turn out gay."

Gaara had heard enough and took his leave, half-stomping in his steps. 'Oh, shit!' Temari thought. "Gaara?"

"I feel like destroying something."

CRUNCH

"My new puppet!!" came Kankuro's disheartened cry. Temari jumped and ran out as fast as she could. Gaara had disappeared, and so did Konkuro's admirer.

"At least you're alive.."

"I have a little shrimp for a brother and I can't even beat the shit out of him!" Konkuro complained, crossing his arms.

"How do you think I feel?!" Temari replied, "this is worse than a mother teaching her little kid about gay sex."

Kankuro stiffened, "I didn't want to know that."

"I know."

_I love and trust myself alone.. And I fight solely for myself.._

On the day of their departure:

"You are going to do what I say when I say it!" Gaara commanded "I do not want any trouble coming from any of you." He then turned to check the passports with Baki.

"What is he? Our boss?" Kankuro whispered to Temari.

"I heard that." Gaara warned, "And yes, I am"

Throughout their trip to Konoha, none of them dared to say a word, incase Gaara looses it.

Team Kakashi just finished up with their mission. Sasuke took off restively, rejecting Sakura's date offer stating that he had better things to do than such nonsense. Kakashi eyed him warily, but diverted his attention towards the bird flying above them. 'A meeting, ne?' He then set off without a word. Shortly the self-proclaimed Konoha troopers joined Sakura and Naruto in their 'rock'.

Sasuke jumped down the large tree branch and made sure he was by himself before he sulked down, rubbing his forehead as he leaned on the tree trunk. 'It's getting exceedingly tedious,' he thought, 'sometimes it becomes unavoidable.. I can't believe I lost my temper at Naruto.. Maybe I need to rest..' he grabbed 3 rocks that were nearby, close his eyes and tried to clear his head when, out of the darkness of his mind, he revisited the men's bathhouse full of naked men. His eyes snapped open, 'sonna..' he saw his hard on, 'damn, I shouldn't have gone to the onsen with the guys!'

He cursed under his breath, 'I need to stay focused if I'm going to surpass Itachi, kill him, and restore the clan.. Damn.'

Sasuke propped his head up as he heard some an argument from where he had left the gang. 'At least that can take my mind off my insecurities..' The irony.. The great Sasuke has vulnerabilities..

"You two can go ahead," said Baki, "Gaara will join you shortly.. I will be finishing up at the place we're staying." Temari and Kankuro breathed in deep and sighed in relief.

"Gaara, you have fine and fast scouting skills.. You know what to do"

Gaara just took off silently, 'guess we really are going to war.' He took out his notebook and began scratching down notes as he cautiously hopped from place to place. On his last stop, he stopped. He had witnessed 2 people making-out. Gaara cocked his head to the side and decided to have a closer look. To his surprise they were two men.

"_.. There's about a 90 percent chance that a Shukaku Jinchūriki can turn out gay.."_

'Could I be..' the boy bit his lip, 'no, no.. I can love no one but me..' For a split second, Gaara felt a sudden pang in his head. 'Damn it, Yahsamaru.." He closed he eyes, grabbed scalp, and gritted his teeth. 'No, this will not happen again.. I've come this far.. All by myself..' After his head was cleared, he took one last look at the couple then left.

The avenger sneakily hurried towards the ruckus. He scanned the area then and scene. The 2 foreigners were conversing with his teammates and some kids. One of them was manhandling Konohamaru and bullying the rest, while the other girl ninja was trying to calm him down. "Well, after this shrimp I'm going to kill the other annoying midget!" he harassed. The fan-wielding girl declared her un-involvement. Sasuke threw one of the 3 rocks in his hand and with a direct hit. The rock had hit Kankuro's hand hard, forcing him to let go of the little boy.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?"

By the time he found his older siblings, they were already causing trouble. But a shinobi that seemed to be called Sasuke intervened dramatically. Even Temari was infatuated with him.

Gaara stood upside-down on a nearby branch and watched.

Kankuro took out Karasu. Temari began to protest. 'How can that idiot act disgracefully when I specifically asked not to?'

"Stop it Kankuro! You are an embarrassment tour village!"

Sasuke was startled, 'his stealth skills surpass Kakashi's!'

The avenger observed how the 2 sand ninjas were terrified from the one with beautiful, cold, haunting eyes. They finally gave in when he threatened to kill. Sakura asked why they were there, and they responded that they were here for the Chuunin Exam. 'Chuunin will take place here then.. And sooner than expected,' Sasuke thought. The 3 Suna ninjas were attempting to leave for the 2nd time, 'I have to know his name..' Sasuke began, "Hey! What's your name?"

Temari responded, "Who? Me?"

"No, the 1 with the gourd."

Gaara, looked back at him, "Subaku no Gaara.. You're interested in me? I'm interested in you too.. Your name?"

"It's Uchiha Sasuke!" Sasuke put on his cool grin while Gaara stared numbly until Naruto butted in.

"Hey! What about me, huh?" came his loud overly-cheerful voice.

"Not interested.." Came Gaara's flat voice, "exo!"

And the foreigners were gone.

'He is definitely a strong one,' Sasuke thought, 'and kindna cute too..'

--

Siyakatzi's ranting space:

Sorry it took so long.. Well yesterday (26/4/2008) was my cousin's wedding, and well it wasn't a very happy one.. She would choke in a lot with distant watery eyes.. Her mother had died not so long ago and our aunties (her mother's sisters) were crying as well- no, I'm pretty sure they weren't tears of joy because their faces definitely showed a lot of pain and sadness.. We were hoping her mother would make it.. We tried not to show it, but it was in the air.. after that, I was so out of it..


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

"Shikamaru-chan!!" screeched Yoshino Nara, "unless you're dead, mister, you still have chores to do! You can't run away for too long!!"

That day Shikamaru hid quietly on the neighbors' roof top. The warm sun and soft breeze on his face felt so serene that he didn't want to move at all. He grumbled at the sound of his mother's voice, "what a troublesome woman," he muttered as he turned over for more shade.

"You shouldn't say that about your mother, Nara-chan!" a voice came from behind the lad.

"How did you know I was here, Loti-san?" The boy sat up lazily.

"I saw you coming," Loti chuckled, and then added, "your mother is calling you, you should go to her."

"Alright, alright.." he sighed as he lazily got up.

"Ja mata ne, Nara-chan!" Loti stood up as well, smiling gently.

"Ano.." Shikamaru began, "What is it like when 2 men live together as a couple?"

"SHIKAMARU NARA!!" Yoshino was still searching, "I know you're still here!! You never leave without getting something out of the fridge!!"

Loti was surprised, "Ah! Well.. It's no different I suppose.."

"Oh.. Ok.. Sayonara!" and the young shinobi was gone.

Loti scratched his head and smiled, 'it is odd for Nara-chan to care about such things as relationships..'

"Wonder what my Loti is thinking and smiling about," His lover hugged him from behind.

"Okairii, Jun-kun.. I didn't notice you coming!"

"For the gazillionth time, call me Jun!" he kissed Loti hard on the cheek and tickled him playfully forcing Loki to laugh uncontrollably.

"Ok, ok!!" Loti turned around and wrapped his arms around Jun's neck and the tickling stopped. ".. Jun," he stood on his toes and kissed the brunette gently on the lips. They stared at each other for a while.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what you were smiling about?"

"Oh, I was thinking how fast Nara-chan is growing up?"

"And how is that?"

"He asked me a about relationships," Loti stepped out of the embrace, "I'll water my little flower garden and cook lunch while you go and take a bath.. You stink.." Jun pouted but did what he was told.

"Shikamaru!! Where are you??"

Kankuro looked up from repairing his Karasu (Gaara broke it again), irritated. The lady across the street was looking for some Shikamaru for what seemed like hours.. Later on he saw her dragging him from his ear in to the house.

"That's an interesting neighborhood.." Temari commented as she sat beside him on the bench.

"Hmhm.." Her brother was intently focused on repairing his poor puppet.

Temari rolled her eyes and looked around to see two men snogging on a roof top of the building adjacent to the one across the street. One of them was a pale skinned brunette, while the other was a tanned pale-blond. She blushed and turned her head away to see a distant outline of Sasuke entering a huge doorway of some fortified area. 'Ah, so he lives nearby..'

"Where's Baki?" Gaara appeared out of nowhere. Kankuro practically hugged Karasu, breaking its arm, while Temari snapped her head back. Gaara looked around and was clearly not happy about the place.

"He went to get us the sign-up sheets for the Chuunin Exam," Temari responded after quickly restoring her composure.

"Tch," grunted Gaara and turned to walk away.

"Where to?" Temari asked innocently.

"None of your business," Gaara growled without looking back. 'Guess I'll have to give it to him later.'

"You think it safe to let him roam around like this?" Temari crossed her arms and legs.

"Yeah, Karasu will be fixed in no time by the time he comes back and in a better mood!" Kankuro hoped.

"Oh, come on! You broke it this time!" she chided.

Gaara walked aimlessly avoiding the crowd's curious gaze. 'I guess I should head for the library or something..'

"Hey!" A smooth familiar voice called at him. Gaara felt his heart skip a beat. It was Sasuke. "They're going to open the Chuunin registration in 2 days, which makes you free until then. Am I right?"

Gaara felt his cheeks get hot, but he was determined not to give in thoughtlessly. "What's in it for you?"

"A chance to hang out with you," Sasuke relaxed a hand on his hip; he couldn't help but think, 'why does it feels like I'm asking him out?'

"Where to?" Gaara responded after a long awkward pause.

Sasuke's face lit up, 'behave!' he scolded himself. "How about my place? It's been a while since anyone had paid me a visit.. We can talk, train, and play some games."

"Fine," Gaara's indifferent gaze face started to show a little delight. 'I need to keep myself amused to keep that Shukaku at bay.'

Sasuke sauntered off and Gaara followed suite. Neither of them talked much, but both secretly enjoyed the company. They had cleared their heads and left what they had strongly believed in just to be together.

--

A/N:

I apologize profusely about the long Loti and Jun scene.

They are minor characters with a huge, crucial role in the development of this random storyline.. (Yes, I'm actually thinking of a storyline..)

And I am truly really sorry that the SasuGaa plot is developing very slowly.. But they are getting there; don't expect them to hop on each other and do it like bunnies..** XD **I wouldn't mind that, though..


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

"The earth laughs in flowers." - E. E. Cummings

--

Loti set the food on the dining table; he rubbed his head, 'I'm getting a headache.. I guess I shouldn't have waited a bit longer to water my flowers,' he looked about, 'that are odd.. What's taking Jun-kun so long?'

"Jun-kun!" he called and waited, but there was no response. He went up to their room to find Jun's shirt and attire on the bed and the bathroom door open and hot steam was in hovering about. It was clearly empty. Loti had a tight gut feeling in his stomach, 'something's wrong..'

--

'He should be around here somewhere..' Temari was annoyed. 'Gaara went missing for way too long.'

"Temari!" Kankuro called through her headset, "any sign of him yet?"

"Nope!" She replied through the mic, "We need to check homes this time as well! We meet at the inn within an hour!"

"Roger!"

--

Baki was writing some notes until a gust of wind diverted his attention, 'didn't I close that window?'

He suddenly became alert when he realized he wasn't alone.

"Greetings, Baki!" a dark haired man finally spoke from behind. Baki quickly assumed assault position. "You can relax.. I'm shirtless and unarmed!" He chuckled.

Baki's eye frowned, but instantly lit when he recognized the man. "The fact that you turned up alive after disappearing for seven years gives me a better reason to be wary of you, Akio."

"I haven't heard that name in a while.. They call me Jun now." Jun rubbed his neck as he added, "you know I don't kill unless I have to."

"What do you want?" Baki relaxed a bit.

"Now, that's a perfect subject. I brought Loti – I mean _Haru_, for a good reason. And Gaara being here will ruin everything."

--

Sasuke was in the kitchen fetching some cold drinks leaving Gaara in the living room. A strange object caught the redhead's eye.

"Odd plant," Gaara walked over and stared at the flower, "I have read many books about plants, but never encountered such a mystery."

Sasuke walked over to him. "Ah, yeah.. Loti-san brought it over. He said it can lighten up the place." He answered as he handed over the drink.

"It looks like an ixia, but way too small for one.. What is it called?"

Sasuke shrugged, "He said that it is 'a magical flower that produces miracles' or something like that." Gaara frowned and tried to see if Sasuke was pulling his leg. Sasuke noticed the gesture and defended his words, "I swear!"

"How?"

"It's like an automatic air freshener.. It would produce different scents depending on the mood."

"Hmm.." Gaara sipped his cold drink, still unconvinced. Sasuke put down his drink and watched closely the other's every movement. He had a long petite neck, small delicate hands that moved elegantly and his smooth skin was fair and unbroken despite Sunagakure's harsh climate and the ruthless nature of a shinobi's job. He resisted every single nerve in his body that pleaded him to touch.

Gaara put down his drink and watched as the flowers closed up, inflated until it until it exploded open again spraying purple sparkles.

--

"I'm back! Sorry I had something to do." Jun walked in to the house.

"Without your shirt? Without your bloody gadgets? Or even bothering to tell me!" Loti stomped up to him, arms raised.

"It was an emergency," Jun whined like a little kid. Loti rolled his eyes and walked away. "Loti-chan, I'm hungwey!"

"There's food on the table! Help yourself!" He slammed the door.

"But it's cowld!"

"You're sleeping on the couch for a week!!"

--

The afternoon sun was warm and comfy. The scent coming from the strange flower was making them feel drowsy and light in the head. It might look like a min ixia, but its smell was that of a cestrum nocturnum. They began to sway towards each other, so close that they can feel one another breathing.

Sasuke began stroking his hands against Gaara's arms and shoulders. When he didn't feel any resistance, he slipped his hands down under the red head's shirt and ran his cold fingers across the smooth abdomen. They could feel an uncontrollable surge soaring through their veins; moreover, their hearts were pounding hard and loud in their heads, blocking away all their thoughts or screams that demand sense and reason.

_No.._

Both were breathing heavily against each other's neck, their sweaty faces touching. Sasuke grip his waist with a little force and pressed his lips on the neck and began sucking and kissing hard. Gaara bit his lips to prevent any sound from escaping, but subconsciously began shifting and shivering under the touch.

--

"Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear..." – E. Cummings

--

_We can't.._

Sasuke found his way to Gaara's hard nipples and pressed it; making him gasp and seize Sasuke's hair as his back arched. The dark haired lad couldn't take it anymore and pulled the other to the floor, shoving his mouth to his. Just as their lips touched, Gaara slid his tongue against the other's, flicking it back and forth, and then pushed it deep inside. Sasuke welcomed the long thick tongue and sucked it.

_We have to stop.._

Gaara moved his hands under Sasuke's shirt, to his back, and pulling him down to press their bodies together. They entangled their legs and pressed their hips hard against each other. Sasuke liked Gaara's voice and wanted to hear more. "Ah.." Gaara groaned as Sasuke reached down his pants.

_Why us?_

Gaara was going mad. His member was hard, and he could feel his partner's going crazy. Sasuke sat up, still straddling him. He took off his own shirt then snatched the uke's off as well. A shower of licks and kisses covered the redhead's upper body, as the seme began to undo his pants.

CRASH

Temari, who was crouching on the windowsill, had dropped her giant fan out of shock and was gaping stupidly at the two.

--

**A/N:**

Finally! Some action! LoL!

**FYI:**

A cestrum nocturnum (or night blooming jasmine) is known for possessing the most powerful scent any flower can have.. Only at night, though..

**Bonus:**

I did a few sketches.. But the scanner wasn't working.. So I took cell phone shots instead..

Sorry about the poor quality.. just remove the spaces..

Ixia flowers: http : / / i35.photobucket . com/albums/d175/rancidaluminium/ixia.jpg

Jun/Akio: http : / / i35.photobucket . com/albums/d175/rancidaluminium/Jun.jpg

Loti/Haru: http : / / i35.photobucket . com/albums/d175/rancidaluminium/Loti.jpg


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05**

Gaara and Sasuke were staring at the girl as if they had slapped them awake. It took them a while to realize what was going on. Sasuke's face went crimson red and he immediately hopped off Gaara.

Temari tried to explain herself quickly, "Oh shit.. Umm.. Listen up guys I'll stay quite about it! I promise!!" 'Please do nnt kill me..'

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, "good.. Now leave.." when she left, Sasuke slumped to the floor beside Gaara.. He slowly looked up to find himself surrounded with sand. He looked at Gaara and found him looking intently at the plant.

Gaara got up, pulling up his pants, "stupid plant.."

"I am sor-"

"Don't be.." Gaara gathered his sand into his gourd and left without a word.

--

"You love simply because you cannot help it." – Anderson

--

Temari ran blindly away from Sasuke's house. 'What was that back there?! Gaara does not love!! Shit, he is going to kill me!!'

"Watch it!!"

WHAM - CRASH

"OUCH!!" Temari had slammed to the floor and the unexpected lad had smacked right on top or her.

"You should have moved out of the way when you saw me coming!" Temari was in no mood to let anything go. "Couldn't you see that I was in a hurry?!"

"No, you looked like you were scared shitless!" The youth complained. "Besides, it would be too troublesome to move."

Temari's eyes lit, but she promptly pulled herself together, "Get off me, will you?!"

"Alright, alright.. Troublesome woman." He stood up and stared down at her. He actually thought twice before offering his hand to help her up. Temari slapped it away and groggily stood up. "Women!"

"Who are you?" Temari was intrigued by his attitude.

"Shikamaru desu." He didn't bother asking back and took off.

'This guy has issues,' Temari thought, ' .. Like I'm the one to talk..' But then, an idea had popped into her head.

"Hey!" Temari called, making Shikamaru turn, "if you show me where the public library is, I shall forgive you."

--

"We don't love qualities, we love persons; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as of their qualities." - Jacques Maritain

--

"_It would produce different scents depending on the mood."_

'Just what was his mood back then.. And why?'

Gaara sat on the roof glaring at the sky, as if condemning the world for its injustice. Out of sheer anger he hissed through gritted teeth, "as long as there are people in this world, I am going to kill them all- that is my purpose!!"

SLUMP

Gaara turned his head towards the noise to find a book. He beckoned it towards him with his sand. As he held the book, a small paper fell out. He grabbed it in mid air and read,

'Hope this helps! You secret is safe with me! Temari-chan 3'

His eyes hesitantly peered at the title. "You've got to be shitting me!"

Book: "The Ultimate Gay Sex Manual for Beginners."

--

"That was stupid," Shikamaru sighed. They were sitting at the bench right in front of the inn.

"I am aware of that," Temari crossed her legs, "but he is going to need it, anyway."

"You do things for that guy, knowing he might decapitate you.. How troublesome.." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Well I am the eldest," Temari smiled at him cheekily, "it is my job!"

Shikamaru could not help but put on a little smile.

"We'd better get going.."

"Yeah.."

None of them moved off the bench. There was a serene tranquility as the sunset sprayed its colorful rays on their surroundings.

--

"You can be sincere and still be stupid." - Charles F. Kettering

--

Loti had fallen asleep in their bedroom, locking the door, which means that he really was planning on having Jun sleep on the couch for the week.

Jun gazed lividly outside the window. 'The youngest of the Subaku No siblings didn't, thankfully, show up as much as the two older ones." Jun thought as he crossed his arms, 'I have to make sure that Loti and Gaara never meet.. I would hate to be forced to start killing again.. Baka Baki!'

--

Sasuke sat in his usual thinking pose on his doorway steps. He slumped and placed his lips on his hands. 'This is stupid. and humiliating. It should never have gone this far.. I don't even invite people over!' his eyebrows furrowed, 'I am going nowhere like this.. I could not even defeat that Haku guy- but Naruto did! How low have I sunk?' He bit his thumb hard, 'I have to get stronger! I want to kill that bastard Itachi!!'

"_Foolish brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."_

'I am an avenger!' Sasuke screamed in his head and had gradually bit harder on his thumb, until the tasted of blood had filled his mouth. 'And that guy..'

--

"Some thoughts are better left unsaid, some feelings are better left kept to yourself, but love has its way of expressing itself despite the silence."

--

Siyakatzi's ranting space:

I kept today's chapter short, just to speed up events. Temari and Shikamaru have finally met - they had a fluffy moment, and Kankuro's Karasu did not break this chapter.

Sigh.. Word came in that my cousin collapsed after we left the wedding.. If she was not ready for it, then she shouldn't.. Oh, well..

I was going through Hunter x Hunter episodes on veoh.. I love the series!! Too bad it remains incomplete.. It was the first anime series that made me fall with most of its characters!! My favorite characters are Killua, Illumi, Kuroro, Korapika, and Hisoka!! Hisoka is just so gay, I love him!! Btw, Killua & Illumi Zaoldyeck share similar big-brother-small-brother relationship as Sasuke & Itachi Uchiha.


End file.
